Farewell to… Parelli trainer and farrier James Roberts

More than 500 people turned out to pay their respects at the Wiltshire funeral of Parelli trainer and farrier James Roberts, who was killed in a car crash last month at the age of 34.

James helped many riders with difficult horses, including Robert Whitaker, Kitty Boggis, Georgie Spence and Jane Gregory, at his yard near Devizes.

He died after his car collided with another vehicle near Manningford Abbots, Wilts, on 18 November.

Eventer Georgie Spence said James had bridged the gap between the competition world and Parelli and had been “an incredible horseman”.

His fiancée Vicky Craig said she hoped to continue his work.

She asked that the funeral (pictured) was a celebration of James’s life, not a sombre affair, so the theme was ‘cowboy’.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (20 December 2012)

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